Metalia-sama

Tonight hadn't been as bad as most, fortunately. Jadeite was relieved that it had ended quickly and that he would be permitted to leave his Master's chambers sooner than usual, but before he could even push himself up and off the wooden floor his head spun to the side from a hard slap across his face.

“Don't you even think about betraying me,” came his Master's warning.

“I wouldn't...” his voice came out quiet as he tried to hide his fear.

“Zoisite would, and don't think that I don't know about you two. You'll go straight to his room and fuck him as well, won't you?”

“No...”

Another slap and Jadeite's head rolled to the other side, now both of his cheeks burned. “Don't lie to me.”

It wasn't a lie. While he and Zoisite had taken to sharing a bed, it was nothing more than that. Jadeite knew that Zoisite was afraid to suggest more because of what happened here each night.

Thankfully Endymion decided to let the matter drop and moved away from the younger man. “Get out of here,” Jadeite's Master grumbled as he stepped into his own bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Zoisite sat at his desk, staring down at the letter, reading it again. He had lost count of the number of times he had retrieved the letter, only to hide it away in his desk again. No, this time he was going to meet the sorceress named Beryl.

He was startled by the door opening and a dishevelled Jadeite entered the room. He calmly returned the letter to its envelope and stuck it back inside his desk before going to meet the man.

Jadeite's hair was a mess, and his jacket was undone, showing the black shirt he wore underneath. He looked more or less in one piece, and Zoisite was happy for this. “Did he hurt you?” the white haired man asked tentatively. Zoisite had made the mistake once of drawing Jadeite into a tight embrace after the latter had received a severe beating.

“Not really, no,” was the quiet reply.

Zoisite moved to gently remove the black uniform jacket from Jadeite's shoulders and hung it next to his own. Turning he watched as Jadeite sat down on the foot of the bed and removed his own shirt, throwing it into the corner with some force. Tears threatened to spill forth.

Zoisite crawled onto the bed behind the other man and rested his hands lightly on Jadeite's shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, as he began to massage the muscles in Jadeite's back.

“No.”

Zoisite let the matter drop and continued working on Jadeite's shoulders, but Jadeite reached a hand up to stop him. “You're hurt.”

“It's not as bad as it looks.”

“Your shoulder? You were holding it earlier.”

“Just a little strained. Don't worry about it.” Zoisite's hands remained on Jadeite's shoulders, but moved when Jadeite turned a bit to face him.

“I could use a bath, do you mind?”

“Of course not.”

“Thank you,” Jadeite stood then and made his way to Zoisite's private bath. The older Tennou watched him leave and then stood to get the bed ready. It pained him to see Jadeite abused in the way that he was. Physical beatings were one thing, but to take such an act and warp it into something meant to gain power and control, and with Endymion's newest threats on top of that, Zoisite knew that he could wait no longer. Kunzite was right, something had to be done now.

What added to his misery was the fact that he wanted to do more with Jadeite that to simply offer the warmth of his bed. He wanted to show him that level of intimacy in a loving and compassionate context, not one polluted with violence and power. But the concept of sex had probably been so twisted in Jadeite's mind, that Zoisite feared they could never share it.

Stripping himself of his remaining clothing, his white uniform pants, Zoisite crawled under the sheets and waited while Jadeite finished up in the bathroom. It had been three months since Jadeite had first starting coming to his bed, and two since Zoisite had realized his feelings for the other man. Of course, if their Master had never gone in search of Metalia, they probably would never have been drawn to each other as they were now. A small blessing hidden in a much larger hell.

The door opened and Jadeite stepped out, still towelling the blond curls on his head. Zoisite pulled the sheets back on the other side of the double bed and wrapped them and his own arms around the other man when he joined him. Jadeite happily rested his head beside Zoisite's shoulder and cuddled close as a soft sigh escaped his lips.

Zoisite smiled and placed a soft kiss on Jadeite's forehead. Seeing Jadeite safe and warm was one of the few things these days that brought him happiness. It was then that he remembered the letter.

“Jade?”

“Mm?”

“I'm... not going to be here tomorrow night.”

Jadeite looked up at his lover then, propping himself up on his elbow. “Why?” he asked, a bit of worry in his voice. “Where are you going?”

Zoisite didn't want to hurt Jadeite, but he knew that for Jadeite's safety, as well as his own, he could not tell him. “It's just something that I have to do.”

A suspicious light crept into Jadeite's blue eyes then. “This is that thing you and Kunzite have been planning, isn't it?”

Zoisite refused to answer that question, and his refusal confirmed what Jadeite had thought. “Zoi... please don't. If it's bad enough that you won't tell me, then I know that if you get caught... Damn it Zoi! If I lose you...”

“Shh,” Zoisite whispered as he ran his fingers through Jadeite's hair, trying to comfort the man who was threatening to cry once more. “I'll be back before morning.”

“I can't deal with this alone.”

It pained Zoisite to see Jadeite in such a worried state. He knew he was Jadeite's only link with sanity. The one person he could turn to after so many hours in that demon's lair. He wrapped his arms around the younger man and held him tight.

Kunzite knew the risks he and Zoisite were taking in even considering such a plan. It wasn't as if they didn't want to risk their lives to save their Master, that was what it meant to be one of the Shitennou. It was entirely possible that their plan would fail, and if it did, it could very well mean their heads. Without them, Kunzite feared that the planet would fall to Metalia.

They would make sure that Jadeite and Nephrite were safe and uninvolved, but even then Kunzite didn't believe that the two of them would be able to succeed where he and Zoisite failed.

'No,' Kunzite told himself. 'I shouldn't be assuming the plan will fail.” Besides, he didn't even know for sure that Zoisite was going to go through with it. Not with Jadeite complicating matters.

Kunzite looked down at the conference table covered in maps of the various domes that made up the Silver Millennium. He had never been a big fan of the Moon Kingdom, but what Endymion was demanding was something else all together.

Once news that Metalia had taken full control of the Earth's Prince, all contact with the Moon had been cut off. It was now impossible to teleport into any of the domes, and they were refusing to reply to any of the messages that were sent. Kunzite had even gone so far as to ask for help, behind the backs of the others of course, but to no avail.

Endymion wanted a full out attack on the Silver Millennium, claiming that he was in love with it's Princess and that he wanted her at any cost. Kunzite touched the scar on his right cheek in memory of when Endymion had first told him of the plan, and that Kunzite was in charge of planning the attack.

“That is absolutely ridiculous, Master.”

“You are questioning my decisions?”

“Metalia has warped you mind, can't you see this?”

The Master had responded by drawing his sword and slicing a warning mark across his face. “Next time, it will be your eye.”

Kunzite slammed a fist on the table. “Damn that demon,” he growled, the frustration he felt at not being in control of the situation evident.

“The walls have ears, Kunzite...”

The Tennou leader turned quickly, surprised that he was not alone. Nephrite stood in the doorway, a grim expression on his face. Kunzite turned back to the maps, “it's not like he would do anything to me. He needs me too much.”

“It's not you you should be worried about.”

Kunzite clenched his fists and spun around again, his voice bordered on yelling before he quickly controlled himself. “I don't need to be reminded of that,” he hissed.

Nephrite quietly closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room. The muscles in his neck were tense, as he was obviously trying very hard to control his anger. “Apparently you do. You organized that little meeting earlier today, and look what it got them.”

“I think you've forgotten what it means to be a member of the Shitennou, Nephrite. We don't protect each other, we protect the Master. And that's what I intend to do.”

“And how do you plan to do that? I don't think that getting Zoisite killed is an effective route.”

Both men kept their voices low, but the hostility in the room was thick. The stress of the situation beginning to take it's toll on both guardians. Kunzite's eye were ablaze as he roughly grabbed the front of Nephrite's jacket. He wanted to strike the other man, as if that would somehow make everything better. Instead he released the Tennou, and took his frustrations out on the maps, sending them flying off the table with a sweep of his arm.

The room was silent for several minutes. Kunzite stood with his hands resting on the table for support while his anger cooled.

“I'm sorry,” came a muttered apology.

Kunzite just shook his head. “Will you leave, please?” he asked, his voice now sounded defeated. Nephrite didn't reply, but he left the room as requested, much to Kunzite's relief. He felt like a failure. Not only to the Master, who he couldn't save from the demon inhabiting his body, but also to his fellow Tennou. Despite his words, he did feel the need to protect the other three. He was their leader, and he had failed them.

He stared down at the wooden table as a few tears blemished its surface.